CCPR/C/120/D/2532/2015 Annex Individual opinion of Committee member José Manuel Santos Pais (dissenting) 1. I regret that I am unable to share fully the reasoning by the majority of the Committee that the State party violated the author’s rights both under article 7, read in conjunction with article 2 (3), and under article 14 (1) of the Covenant. 2. The author makes several allegations of torture, but when analysed in detail, doubts arise as to their credibility, especially in the light of State party’s observations that the author did not raise his allegations of torture and ill-treatment either during the trial before the Soviet District Court of Kazan or in his cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of Tatarstan. Instead, he raised them for the first time in his request for a supervisory review, in November 2010, i.e. one and a half years after the alleged torture had occurred and when it would be very difficult to confirm it through forensic examination (see paras. 4.1-4.2 of the Views). 3. The author alleges he was beaten severely for several days starting 1 June 2009 (see paras. 2.1-2.2).1 However, on 5 June 2009, supposedly after four days of severe beating, a medical certificate was issued by a forensic expert that included details of his bodily harm (see para. 2.5, footnote 6) and an estimation that some of the bodily injuries had been caused 2 to 5 days previous and others 4 to 8 days previous. In the certificate, the author states he was apprehended by the police but the officers did not use physical violence, and he did not voice any complaints. He also states that one week earlier he had fallen on the street and had damaged his left shoulder and his knees (see footnote 6 and para 5.1). 4. The author further states that, on 3 June 2009, he suffered a heart attack as a result of the violence (see para 2.3). The State party confirms this and notes that the author, upon admission to the pretrial facility (on 11 June 2009), underwent a medical examination and was diagnosed with “high blood pressure (hypertensive disease), ischemic heart disease and orthostatic collapse”. In connection with those diseases, he was admitted to the hospital, where he was provided with the necessary medical treatment (see para. 8.2). Furthermore, in its decision of 28 August 2011 not to open criminal investigation against police officers, the Department of Internal Affairs of Kazan indicates that a doctor and his assistant had testified that the author had previously suffered a cranial-cerebral trauma and had been hospitalized following a heart attack, had refused to be hospitalized and had signed a refusal to that effect, and that there had been no sign of physical violence and the author had not made any complaints (see footnote 4). 5. The author also alleges he was transferred in August 2009 to Kazan prison hospital for a month. After returning to the place of detention, he was subject to severe and repeated beatings during interrogations. As a result, he suffered an organ failure, developed a number of diseases and became partially disabled (see para. 2.7). However, the medical certificates dated 9 and 11 November 2010 indicated that the author suffered from hypertension disease, chronic pancreatitis and nephroptosis, which could hardly be described as a direct result of torture. Medical certificates also confirmed his limited disability. 6. Furthermore, the author alleges he complained about violence and ill-treatment before the Soviet District Court of Kazan during court proceedings (see para. 6.1). However, according to the transcripts dated 25 December 2009, the author did not detail the unlawful acts he claims had been committed against him (see footnote 19). He complained of physical violence and torture at the beginning of 2010, i.e. three months after the verdict of December 2009, or nine months after his detention and alleged beating (see para. 6.1). 7. The author, who was found guilty of premeditated armed robbery and physical assault and sentenced to a prison term of 11 years (see para. 2.11), has poor health 1 12 Date is uncertain — 1 or 3 June 2009 (see footnote 1).